Islamabad, Dec 16: On Monday, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) saw a slight dip against the US dollar (USD) in the inter-bank market, closing at 278.17, down by Rs. 0.05 (0.02%) from the previous day’s close of 278.12.
This minor depreciation follows the announcement by the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which reduced the key policy rate by 200 basis points to 13%. The MPC’s statement noted a narrowing gap between interbank and open market exchange rates, contributing to strong workers’ remittances. Additionally, the surplus in the current account and improved foreign investment inflows helped build the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves despite weak official inflows.
Looking ahead, the SBP projects that sustained growth in remittances and exports, along with favorable international commodity prices, will keep the current account deficit within the lower end of the projected 0-1% of GDP range for FY25. This is expected to help the SBP’s reserves exceed $13 billion by June 2025.
However, the rupee experienced losses against other major currencies. It fell by Rs. 1.22 against the Euro (EUR), closing at 292.29, and dropped Rs. 0.1928 against the British Pound (GBP), closing at 351.4427. Additionally, the rupee weakened by Rs. 0.1315 against the Australian Dollar (AUD) and Rs. 0.1133 against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), closing at 177.2096 and 195.5860, respectively. The rupee also lost value against the UAE Dirham (AED) by Rs. 0.0146 and the Saudi Riyal (SAR) by Rs. 0.0162, closing at 75.7343 and 74.0272, respectively.
